June 2015

In most states, retailers must obtain a license in order to sell The Selling of tobacco products. Oregon does not require tobacco retail licensure, in the City of Portland so a list of tobacco retailers was created from various sources. All Multnomah County residents deserve neighborhoods that promote their There were 537 tobacco retailers in Portland, and a random sample health. Since tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death, it is im- of 367 retailers was selected to be portant to understand the tobacco environment in the county. An assessment assessed in this study. The stores was conducted of retail stores in Multnomah County that sold tobacco. This were categorized by location, based summary includes findings for the City of Portland. (A report on the findings on neighborhood association: for all of Multnomah County is also available.) Central Northeast Neighbors 34 In Portland, two-thirds (68%) of the tobacco retailers were convenience stores, East Portland Neighborhood 82 followed by grocery stores (10%). More unique stores that sold tobacco included Office a bait and tackle shop, craft shop, espresso shop, marijuana paraphernalia Northeast Coalition of 37 store, and tanning salon. Over a third (37%) of tobacco retailers were located Neighborhoods within 1000 feet of a school. North Portland Neighborhood 37 Tobacco distributors pay some stores to display tobacco advertising, often Services dictating where the advertisements are placed. Most (68%) retailers had Neighbors West-Northwest 57 outside advertisements for tobacco which can be seen by shoppers as well as Southeast Uplift Neighborhood 92 some youth and adults who do not shop at the store. Youth are more likely to Coalition be exposed to advertising when it is placed near products they are purchas- Southwest Neighborhoods Inc. 28 ing. Among the Portland stores in this study, 18% displayed tobacco within TOTAL 367 12 inches of products sold to youth (toys, candy, slushy/soda machine, or ice cream). Ads were placed within three feet of the floor – where young children are likely to see them – in 10% of stores.

Novel Nicotine Products and Youth Youth are increasingly likely to use a variety of tobacco and nicotine products that often have added flavorings that appeal to youth. For example, electronic use among 11th graders almost tripled from 2011-2013 in Oregon.

Percentage of 11th graders in Multnomah County who have used tobacco products in the past 30 days A typical display of the variety of tobacco products being sold. Tobacco 8% cessation aids are also displayed. Cigars, cigarillos, little cigars 5% Electronic cigarettes 4% Smokeless tobacco 3% Hookah 9% Source: Oregon Healthy Teens Survey, 2013 Studies have shown that adolescents who are exposed to tobacco advertising Partners in this Study and promotional activities are more likely to start . Nationally, the Multnomah County was awarded a spends nearly $10 billion in advertising and promotional grant from the Oregon Health Au- activities each year, and the bulk of this promotion occurs in retail stores. thority through a competitive RFP: Almost all Portland tobacco retailers (95%) sold cigarettes, including all con- Strategies for Policy and Environ- mental Change (SPArC)–Tobacco venience stores. Most retailers also sold little cigars (89%), electronic cigarettes Free. This grant-funded study was (87%), and smokeless tobacco (86%). a collaboration among the Mult- The most popular types of tobacco were commonly available with flavorings. nomah County Health Department and five members of the Oregon Over 90% of stores that sold the following products offered the product with Health Equity Alliance: flavorings: cigarettes (menthol), electronic cigarettes, little cigars, smokeless tobacco, blunt wraps, and hookah. • Asian Health & Service Center • Center for Intercultural Organizing The tobacco industry uses in-store price promotions as a way to boost sales, and almost three-quarters (74%) of stores that sold cigarettes offered some • Oregon Latino Health Coalition kind of price discount. Cigarette price discounts were more common in • Upstream Public Health East Portland (86% of stores) compared to other areas of the city (70%). • Urban League of Portland This disparity was even greater for discounts on menthol cigarettes: 80% in Partners on this grant are concerned East Portland and 56% in other areas of the city. Price promotions for little about preventing tobacco and nico- cigars was more common in East Portland (40%) and North Portland (21%) tine use among our county’s youth. compared to other areas of the city (5%). The vast majority (90%) of adult smokers started using tobacco Possible law violations were observed in a number of stores. Self-service displays when they were under 18 years old. of tobacco products were found in 19 Portland stores where state law requires tobacco sales to be vendor-assisted. Federal law does not allow cigarettes to be sold in packs of less than 20, and Oregon law requires cigarettes to be sold in sealed packages. Some retailers break open a to sell single cigarettes or , in violation of the law. Ten stores (3%) sold loosies, and seven of these stores were located in North or Northeast Portland. Approxi- mately 10% of the stores selling tobacco in North or Northeast Portland sold loosies. Oregon law requires tobacco retailers to display a sign indicating that no sales to minors are allowed. Almost half (47%) of the stores in Central Northeast Portland did not display such a sign, and 12% of stores in other areas of the city did not display a sign.

Cigars? Cigarettes? Federal law does not allow flavorings in cigarettes except for menthol. Some youth smoke little cigars, which often contain other flavorings that can appeal to youth. Federal law also does not allow cigarettes to be sold in packs of less than 20 cigarettes, as a way to increase the price barrier to smoke tobacco. That law does not apply to little cigars, and most (83%) stores that sold little Display of liquid, in cigars allowed them to be purchased as singles. The most common price for flavors such asClown Candy, Root Beer, one little cigar was 79 cents. Some store clerks said that the flavored little Kettle Corn, and Yummy Gummy. cigars are popular among young adults.

Contact Olivia Quiroz, Senior Policy Specialist Multnomah County Health Department Community Wellness and Prevention Program [email protected]